Net Zero Hydrogen Fund – Competition Briefing

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), supported by Innovate UK and Innovate UK KTN, have launched the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF).

Up to £240m in funding is available and will fund the development and deployment of low carbon hydrogen production to de-risk investment and reduce lifetime costs. Both strands will support multiple hydrogen production technologies.

The aim of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) is to provide capital expenditure (CAPEX) and development expenditure (DEVEX). This will support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production projects during the 2020s.

This is to ensure the UK has a diverse and secure decarbonised energy system fit for meeting our ambition of 10GW low carbon hydrogen production by 2030, and commitment to reach net zero by 2050.

The competition will be published on 19th April and opens on 25th April 2022.

Strand 1 (which closes on 22nd June 2022) will provide development expenditure (DEVEX) for front end engineering design (FEED) and post-FEED activities, aiming to build the pipeline of hydrogen production projects to measurably move these closer to deployment.

Strand 2 (which closes on 6th July 2022) will provide capital expenditure (CAPEX) support for hydrogen production projects that do not require revenue support through the Hydrogen Business Model (HBM). Applicants for strand 2 must demonstrate how they will develop a credible project that will contribute to the at-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen by 2025.

Join the webinar on 26th April 2022 to hear more about the competition scope, timelines and key application criteria.